Half-Full, Rose-Colored Glasses

No doubt most every well mannered mother on the planet remembers being told 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.' as she was busy growing into her well mannered self.  In fact, she has probably said it to her own offspring once or twice.  And really, the longer we live, the wiser this advice seems.  For, at the end of the day, who really wants to be around gloomy, negative, catty people?  Most every modern mother knows one - the old friend or new acquaintance who emanates negative energy and universal dissatisfaction.  Not only do you feel fatigued after a visit with this person you also feel irritable, depressed and mad at yourself for spending your valuable free time in such an unproductive way.

Of course everyone gets a bit down now and again and can be excused a good gripe session.  After all what are friends for?  But in general, we have found that a positive,  rose-colored, glass half-full attitude gets one further in life and makes it a lot more enjoyable.  No one is advocating being a big phony or pretending everything is wonderful if it isn't.  Yet many times given the choice, it is usually just as easy to think of something pleasant to say as it is something snide or unkind.  At the risk of sounding all new-age touchy-feely: the more positive energy the well mannered modern mother emits the more she receives and the more pleasant her world becomes.